


one half of me is yours (the other half yours)

by Augment



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, long-haired zoro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augment/pseuds/Augment
Summary: Zoro's hair has gotten longer. Luffy won't stop trying to touch it.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 36
Kudos: 334





	one half of me is yours (the other half yours)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my rather nonsense contribution to the fandom tradition of going 'but what if Zoro had long hair?', most recently inspired by [yukiyukioekaki's lovely sketches](https://yukiyukioekaki.tumblr.com/post/189957391911/long-haired-zoro-sketches), this [excellent piece by birbforthewin](https://birbforthewin.tumblr.com/post/190316120581/oh-no-zoro-is-hot-with-long-hair-or-maybe-im%22), and this [fantastic image by skypiea](https://skypiea.tumblr.com/post/624038268516859904/him).
> 
> Set after Zoro and Luffy reunite in Wano, by which I mean it has the Wano aesthetic and also that I'm ignoring canon timelines (as usual) because they don't suit me. 
> 
> I also learned that the Wano hairstyle is called [chonmage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chonmage), if you're interested.

“Zoro!” Luffy crows with pure, unmitigated delight, as he wraps his limbs multiple times around the swordsman.

“You took your goddamn time,” Zoro says, and he means it to sound grumpy but it’s somewhat undermined by the giant grin on his face and the way he hugs Luffy back just as tightly.

“Missed you too,” Luffy laughs. “We got Sanji back,” he adds.

“Fantastic,” Zoro says dryly. “Any problems?”

“Nope, just the usual,” Luffy says breezily as he gives one last squeeze and unwinds himself, thumping back down to the ground. “How are things with the rest of the crew?”

Zoro shrugs. “Fine, last I heard.”

Tama's enormous animal companion makes a snorting noise in the distance, several metres away from where Luffy had abandoned them when he caught sight of Zoro.

Zoro turns his head to look, properly noticing the giant dog and its small companion. "Who's this?" he asks.

“ _Zoro_ ,” Luffy says, breathless. “Zoro, _your hair._ ”

“What? Oh, right,” Zoro says, self-consciously patting the small pony tail pinned to the top of his head. It’s clearly not a wig, like Luffy's is, which means that Zoro's hair has grown several inches since Luffy last saw it.

“Lemme touch it,” Luffy demands.

“What? No.”

“I wanna touch it.”

“Luffy, goddammit, get your hands off me.”

By the time the dog gives up waiting to be summoned and comes trotting up, Luffy is clinging, monkey-like, to Zoro’s back, doing his damndest to get his fingers in Zoro’s hair and dislodge its small pony-tail. Zoro keeps jerking his head out of the way and swearing at Luffy.

The dog makes its presence known by barking once, sharply.

Zoro moves blindingly fast, and suddenly Luffy is on his ass two feet away, laughing uproariously.

“Are you done?” Zoro addresses Luffy.

Luffy stops laughing, but doesn’t stop smiling. He pins Zoro with an intense and joyful look. “ _Missed you._ ”

* * *

Once things have settled down, and Tama's fever has lessened under Tsuru's care, Zoro and Luffy find time to catch each other up on events. It doesn't take too long – neither Zoro nor Luffy being particularly concerned with details – but by the time the conversation runs down, the sun has set and the little village is quiet. Zoro and Luffy are the only ones still outside, clustered around a small fire lit to fend off the approaching chill.

Luffy pokes at the coals with an unburnt stick. The fire glows brighter, briefly.

"I did miss you, you know," Luffy remarks.

Zoro gives him an odd look. "Sabaody took longer."

Luffy shrugs. "I guess that was different. I dunno."

Zoro hums, and they sit in silence for a while.

"Could've used you there," Luffy says, half to himself, staring into the fire.

Zoro shifts next to him, knocks their knees together.

"I've never second-guessed you," Luffy adds.

Zoro exhales a laugh. He stretches his legs out in front of him, getting more comfortable.

"Whiskey Peak?" he suggests, grinning, reaching up and removing first the pin and then the slim elastic holding his ponytail in place.

Luffy fully intends to reply, but somehow forgets to, as Zoro scratches at his scalp to release the hair fully, and it tumbles down to touch the top of his shoulders.

"Hey," Zoro says, somewhat self-consciously, in the face of Luffy's staring.

"You've been making good life choices," Luffy says abruptly.

"What?"

"Not to cut your hair," Luffy attempts to clarify. "It's a good idea."

"Oh? Yeah, well, I thought it might make me harder to recognise."

That… is not what Luffy meant, at all, but he lets its slide, and continues to watch as Zoro combs out his hair with his fingers, all firelit and soft. Wanting to know if it's as thick as it looks, Luffy reaches out a hand to join in.

Zoro swats him away. "Stop it," he says with mild irritation.

Luffy pouts, and when that garners no reaction, shoves his face in front of Zoro so the swordsman can see his irritated expression.

Zoro snorts in amusement. "The others also had to change their hair. You gonna to get weird about that too?"

"No," Luffy says immediately. "It's just you."

There's not much Zoro can say to that, though he looks both embarrassed and pleased. He loops his hair back up, into a soft bun this time, and yawns. "We should get some rest."

Luffy hums in agreement and flops sideways, so that his head is resting on Zoro's outstretched legs. Luffy stretches out his own legs and closes his eyes. "You can take first watch."

Zoro huffs and Luffy grins, not needing to see his expression.

The fire has died to a quiet crackle, and the night is still, and Luffy is almost asleep when Zoro softly concedes to the night sky, "I missed you, too."

* * *

Sanji also adopts the samurai hairstyle – bewigged, like Luffy – though Luffy can't say it suits him terribly well. Luffy might be biased, though, because the urge to touch Zoro's hair in particular doesn't fade in the least.

That's not particularly new; Luffy enjoys touching Zoro. It's often just simple platonic contact for the reassurance and the security, though sometimes the _intent_ of the touching is slightly less platonic. Luffy doesn't push too far, though, because when he lingers a little too long, Zoro grows awkward and his skin flushes and he pulls away from Luffy, and Luffy doesn't want that.

In any case, they're no strangers to each other's personal space, and Luffy's even had on one or two occasions the rare chance to run his hands through Zoro's hair, when it was shorter. Zoro doesn't typically let him get away with too much, but that doesn't stop Luffy from trying.

This, though, has given him reason to double his efforts.

The thing is, Zoro with his hair down looks like something private, something intimate. It makes Luffy think of things like if Zoro kept growing out his hair, how it might look cascading down his broad and muscled back. What it might feel like, against Luffy's own face, or shoulders, or chest. Maybe Luffy could learn to plait, properly, and if Zoro would let him, they could sit close and engage in the simple proprietary motions of grooming, like family, like lovers.

Luffy gets a lot from Zoro, a lot _of_ Zoro, that other people don't. He wants this, too, and while it might fall dangerously close to that other thing Luffy wants and hasn't quite managed to ask for outright just yet, that's not going to stop Luffy from trying his luck.

* * *

Most of this gets shoved to the side in the next couple of weeks. There’s a lot of cool stuff to see, and a bunch of fun fights, so it’s not like Luffy’s obsessed. He has other things to occupy his attention. It flickers at the edge of things, though, small observations, like the way if a strand of hair works its way loose and hangs over Zoro’s scarred eye, he doesn't generally bother to push it back in place.

In general Zoro’s hair tends to messiness, and Zoro clearly doesn’t care too much for the bother of hair maintenance, which suggests to Luffy that if Luffy’s not careful, Zoro might just cut it all off once they’re done with this place. Some of the native samurai use a thick oil to keep the topknot neat and in place on top of their heads, but Zoro seems to prefer a pin, which Luffy generally approves of, though he does spend a very distracting five minutes imagining anointing Zoro's thick hair with oil-slick fingers, darkening the green and leaving trails down Zoro's tan skin.

Still, there’s not much Luffy can do if Zoro decides it’s all too much effort and goes back to his previous short hairstyle. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter – Luffy’s hardly going to be _less interested –_ but it does mean that Luffy needs to take advantage of this while he still can.

So the night before they’re due to gatecrash the Fire Festival, Luffy deploys his meagre skills in sneakiness and does a bit of purloining. He vaguely hopes that the nationwide coup will keep Zoro too distracted to notice.

The next morning, however, Zoro comes charging up to Luffy, clearly annoyed. Zoro’s battle-ready except for his hair, which is curling loosely over his ears and around his face and neck, but Luffy’s enjoyment of the sight is somewhat marred by the fact that Zoro’s scowling at him.

Luffy tries his best to look innocent.

“Give me my hair tie,” Zoro demands.

“Why don’t you leave it loose? I like it loose,” Luffy says, not at all ashamed of his admission.

“It gets in my eyes when I’m fighting. Bad idea.”

Luffy reaches out, grabby-hands, to touch Zoro’s hair, but the swordsman swats his captain’s fingers away.

“Of course,” says Zoro, reaching for one of his swords, “I could always just cut it off.”

“No! You can’t do that! Captain’s orders!”

“Then give me a goddamn hair tie.”

“Fine,” Luffy pouts, and hands over the slim black elastic.

Zoro ties and pins his hair up with practiced movements, grumbling to himself. Luffy, foiled, watches him and frowns.

* * *

They start off the fight with good intentions but somehow Zoro and Luffy get separated during the first push of battle. It always seems to happen this way, kind of like the universe can't take the combination of both Luffy and Zoro fighting in the same place at the same time.

Luffy does catch sight of Zoro at one point, and the pin holding the topknot in pace has obviously abandoned its job, leaving Zoro whipping around the battlefield in a messy ponytail, eyes fierce and blades blood-spattered.

It is _such_ a good look on him, that Luffy feels briefly and wildly jealous of Zoro's opponents, getting to experience that up close.

He feels considerably less jealous, however, when it’s him that gets the delight of a private viewing during a temporary lull in fighting. Well, it counts as private, even though they’re surrounded by other people recovering and talking and planning, because Luffy’s the only one paying attention. He gets to watch as Zoro pulls out the hair tie, wincing in annoyance as it catches in the tangles, and then runs his fingers through his hair, loosening the worst of the knots, pulling out and discarding bits of leaf and twig.

Maybe if Luffy offered to help maintain it, Zoro would keep his hair like this for a bit longer. Luffy might wander over, and help comb out the tangles with his own fingers. Zoro's hair could do with a wash as well, no doubt grubby with mud and probably a little blood as well. When they have some downtime, Luffy could persuade Zoro to accompany him to the river to bathe – Zoro wouldn't say no, not if Luffy asked especially – and with the both of them stripped down, have Zoro sink down a little in the water and tilt back his head, so Luffy could gently wash it clean. It would be a treat, for Luffy, to have Zoro's head in his hands, his first mate's eyes closed in trust and serenity, and with small personal touches to be able to thank Zoro for his loyalty and strength.

In this reality, it’s a disappointingly short while later that Zoro gives up on his hair, and having dealt with the worst of the discomfort ties it back up again, looping the ponytail back through the elastic to form a loose bun. With that, their brief respite is over, and Luffy takes his crew back into battle.

* * *

Things work out, like they always do. With Wano free, the entire citadel throws a party, managing to summon banquet tables laden with fantastic food in just a few hours. Musicians compete to compose the best celebration song, and the citizens, samurai, and pirates dance under the moon and fireworks, and drink together by firelight.

Half of Luffy’s attention is on the celebration, but his eyes keep flicking back to where Zoro sits on the other side of their bonfire, just a little separate from the main crowd. Luffy fidgets, makes aborted movements in Zoro’s direction, sits on his hands.

Eventually Zoro sighs, long-suffering. He gets up, crosses over to Luffy’s side, and then sits down again, this time cross-legged in front of Luffy, with his back to his captain.

Luffy makes a joyful and inquisitive sound.

In response, Zoro bends his head forward, exposing the back of his neck to Luffy.

Luffy doesn’t need to be given permission twice. In a flash Luffy's picked out and discarded the pin and hair tie, and he tangles his fingers in Zoro’s softly curling hair, working it loose. Luffy flicks the green locks between his fingers, gently twisting and twining the strands, massaging Zoro’s scalp. Zoro lets his eyes slide closed.

Luffy leans in close, burying his nose in green hair.

“Smells like grass,” Luffy says softly.

“No it doesn’t,” Zoro counters. “It smells like a battlefield. Sweat and blood.”

“ _Grass_ ,” Luffy insists. “And marigolds.”

Against all will, one corner of Zoro's mouth twitches up. "I let you get away with too much," he murmurs.

"Disagree," Luffy says, as he smooths the hair flat and splays it out on top of Zoro's shoulders, leaning back slightly to admire how it looks. Zoro snorts.

There's a gentle wave that carries across the length of Zoro's hair, caused by keeping it in the topknot for so long, and Luffy runs his fingers over it. Then he gathers the hair up again, and passes it over Zoro's left shoulder, smoothing it to one side, then crooking his fingers through the short hairs at Zoro's nape.

"Just a little more?" Luffy asks, because he can't stop himself and he's greedy. He keeps his tone light, but Zoro's knows exactly what he's asking.

Zoro's shoulders stiffen, and Luffy pulls his hands back. He doesn't regret the question; he's either pushed too far or he hasn't, but either way Luffy's sick of hesitating.

Then Zoro exhales, and without warning slumps backward into Luffy. Luffy brings up his arms to catch Zoro, and ends up embracing him, Luffy's chest to Zoro's back.

Luffy presses his nose into Zoro's cheek, and a hopeful, "Yes?" bubbles out of him.

Zoro grasps one of Luffy's hands where they're folded over his chest, and lifts it up to place a soft kiss on the back.

"Yeah," Zoro says, and the word sounds thick in his mouth, like it's having trouble getting out, but Luffy doesn't mind, Luffy understands, and the joy of it makes him jittery in the best way.

Luffy tightens his embrace, and stretches his neck unnaturally far forward to kiss the corner of Zoro's mouth, head snapping back into place before Zoro can react. Zoro flushes and flicks Luffy's nose over his shoulder, and Luffy blows a raspberry on Zoro's cheek in retaliation. Zoro jerks his head aside, laughing, and the movement causes his loose hair to brush over Luffy's wrist, and Luffy has to force himself to let go of the embrace, because they are still in public, after all.

"I'm gonna go celebrate," Luffy says, because there's no way he's sitting still after this. He uses his devil fruit to stretch himself around to look Zoro in the face.

Zoro looks amused, and his eyes are shining in the firelight. "Sure," he says. "We can talk later."

(Luffy _can't wait_. He's also not planning on doing much talking.)

Luffy unfolds himself from Zoro and bounds upright, then lets out a whoop and capers over to the main celebration. He collides with Usopp in a friendly manner, tugs him about and yells a request at Brook, and in a few short minutes is singing a duet with their sniper the top of his voice.

Abandoned by his support, Zoro lets himself fall onto his back, his hair scattered across the ground. He covers his eyes against the knowing face of the moon, and smiles up at the stars with a broad, giddy grin.

* * *

“Human mating customs are weird,” Carrot says, having observed the entire exchange from a short distance away.

Chopper hands her a tankard of juice and sighs in an exaggeratedly world-weary manner. “Tell me about it.”


End file.
